Peter's Legacy
by chicagofxre
Summary: Peter Mills had one regret in life, and that was moving on from Firehouse 51. When Gabby leaves for Puerto Rico, Peter grabs the opportunity to take Dawson's spot on Ambulance 61. How will 51 react when they find out Peter has replaced Gabby? Will they welcome him with open arms, or will tension rise causing serious drama at 51?


**Author's Note:** Thank you for checking out my latest story! This is set as if it was the Season 7 premier. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 1:** _ **Coming Home**_

 **XXXXXXX**

Peter Mills stared at the ticket folded in the palm of his hand and shoved it deep into his pocket. He took a deep breath as he looked upon the empty restaurant that was fighting to keep its doors open open. His mouth was dry and his pulse was racing. Drops of sweat raced down his neck. Mills chewed the inside of his mouth anxiously as he wiped the restaurant booth clean. The first customers of the day sat at that booth moments ago. It was seven o'clock at night. The couple tipped him very handsomely knowing that they were going to be the only ones giving him a tip that day.

"Peter, are you okay?" Elise Mills asked concerned for her brother's state of mind. He hadn't been himself lately, and both her and their mom were worried about him.

Mills nodded gently.

"You know I'm always here for you, right?" Elise expressed sincerely, "Is there something bothering you?"

"I'm fine, Elise. I just need some air. I'm going to go take a walk. I'll be back in half an hour." Mills declared as he threw his dirty rag onto the now spotless booth table and made his way to the restaurant front entrance.

"I don't like the idea of you walking around at night alone." Elise lectured as she crossed her arms,

"I'm thirty years old, Elise. Just relax."

Elise watched her brother walk down the empty sidewalk through the restaurant window. That would be the last time she would see her brother in North Carolina.

 **XXXXXXX**

Peter frantically shoved his clothes into the black and grey suitcase. His phone was buzzing, and he had been receiving countless text messages from his mother and sister for the past hour.

The suitcase was placed on his fully black blanketed bed. He went to the corner of his smaller sized room to grab his carry-on Firehouse 51 backpack that rested on his deep blue painted wall beside his black wooded desk.

The wooden floor creaked as he paced back to his bed with his favorite backpack around his shoulders. He zipped up the suitcase and its wheels were now rolling on the floor.

He stood in the doorframe of his room. Well, technically it was his mom's old guest room. Business at the restaurant had been so rough that Mills could not afford his apartment anymore.

Mills had grabbed his most important belongings due to his suitcase being the small size it was. Maybe one day he'll come back and visit to bring home the rest of his things. Peter left the dusty steel lamp placed on his desk turned on as the dim light gleamed on the note he had left for Elise and his mother.

Peter knew it was a jackass move to leave a note. Guilt pumped through his veins. To put it bluntly, he was abandoning his family in a time of despair.

But he had the whole hour and a half flight to think about how much of a jackass he is. For now, he had to think about his future.

He was now standing at the edge of the sidewalk facing the street anxiously waiting for his Uber to take him to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Tiny rain drops misted on his all black windbreaker. Finally, Mills spotted his Uber through the foggy streets and carefully jogged over to settle his belongings in the trunk.

 **XXXXXXX**

Mills had the window seat on the plane with a view of the left wing. His phone buzzed for the millionth time that day-

 **Boden:** _Call me when you land._

Peter's smile lit up as he read the text.

 **Mills:** _Taking off any minute now._

 **Boden:** _I got you a place to stay. You may or may not like it..._

 **Mills:** _Honestly, anywhere is better than living with my mom._

 **Boden:** _Well, I did what you asked. I kept everything a surprise for them._

 **Mills:** _Haha! I thought you would give in. Have they been asking who the paramedic is?_

 **Boden:** _Yep, but I had to tell Herrmann..._

 **Mills:** _What?! Why? He has the biggest mouth!_

 **Boden:** _I had to tell him because he has an apartment set up for you. He didn't say anything to anyone. He swears by it._

 _"_ Sir? Can you please put your phone away? We are taking off momentarily." The red-headed female flight attendant asked politely as she poured him some Coke.

 **Mills:** _Taking off now. See you soon._

 **XXXXXXX**

Peter Mills stood in front of the dark green house door. This was it-

The start of his new life.

He was exhausted. Peter's work shift started at 7AM. The night before, he had went to bed at 2:30 in the morning. His nerves and thoughts kept him from getting a good sleep.

His flight took off at eleven, and it was now 1AM. The flight had ran into a storm causing delays.

Peter's anxiety was now getting into his head.

 _"Don't knock on this door. Do you really think you're ready for this line of work again? Do you remember the mental trauma? Do you remember the heartbreaks? Do you remember the feeling of losing someone close to you? Do you remember-"_

His thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging wide open. Standing there was Wallace Boden.

"I was waiting for you to knock! You've been standing here for five minutes. I was waiting to see if you were going to run away."

Peter chuckled softly and went in to hug his new Chief.

"I'm so glad you came back." Wallace grinned as he patted his back. "Come inside!"

When Peter entered Boden's home, he was greeted by a particularly distinct voice.

"Peter Mills!" Christopher Herrmann threw his arms into the air and gave him the tightest hug ever.

Mills couldn't stop smiling.

"How was your flight?" Chris asked curiously,

"It was okay. I'm pretty tried. We hit delays because of the storm."

"And _you're positive_ that your mom is okay with all of this?" Boden made sure,

"Yeah, totally." Mills lied nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"I'll go grab you some water." Boden hurried to the fridge generously.

"Alright, Mills. Ready for me to be your new landlord?" Herrmann asked cheerfully,

"Thank you so much for doing this for me." Peter replied sincerely,

"No problem. Rent is $2,500 a month." Herrmann explained with a serious face that made Peter's heart drop.

 _"$2,500? I can't afford that! I could barely afford this airplane ticket! This cheap bastard hasn't changed at-"_

"Mills, I'm just kidding." Christopher grinned interrupting Peter's thoughts, "You can have the place for free."

Mills was completely caught off guard. _Free?_ Peter had rarely ever heard the word _'free'_ come out of Christopher Herrmann's mouth.

"What? No way! I have to pay you rent." Mills argued respectfully,

"Listen, you can pay me when you get back on your feet. For now, it's no charge. If you want to pay me now, you better go find a motel to stay at that will take your cash because I won't." Herrmann argued,

Mills laughed. "Thanks, Herrmann."

Boden came back out with water.

"So, ready for shift on Friday?" Boden wondered enthusiastically.

Today was Wednesday. Peter had some time to mentally prepare.

"Yeah, for sure."

"Well, tomorrow you're getting tested to make sure you qualify as a paramedic. You'll be fine." Boden informed him casually, but Peter's stomach dropped.

"Tomorrow?! How is it even possible that I'm testing tomorrow? That takes months of preparation!" Mills protested nervously,

"Chief and I pulled some strings. You'll ace it. Just be natural like you're on an actual call and everything will flow back into your memory." Herrmann reassured Mills confidently, but it wasn't working.

"Did you think you were just going to walk in on Friday as a certified paramedic?" Boden laughed at him. Mills didn't even think about getting retested. It never crossed his mind.

"Chief, I would really love to stay around to chat, but I think I want to do some review before tomorrow. What time is the test?"

"9AM." Boden and Herrmann both told him in unison and gave each other an awkward look.

"Sure thing, Mills. It's getting late anyway," Boden agreed, "I'll stop by and see you tomorrow at one point. Chris will drop you off at 9."

"Sounds good." Mills replied as he and Herrmann began walking out the front door.

"Hey, Chief?" Peter asked getting Wallace's attention, "Thank you for all of this. Thank you for taking me back. You don't know how much this means to me."

"We're happy to have you, Peter Mills."

 **XXXXXXX**

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